McGill Rides: Ingrid

Q: What is your connection to McGill University?

I am the Science Outreach Coordinator of the Redpath Museum.

Q: How long have you been commuting by bicycle?

I've been commuting by bike during the warm months since 1981, and all year round since the ice-storm of 1998. It was the only way to get around! There were no buses, it was nearly impossible to walk anywhere — but I put a pair of studded tires on my bike and I was fine.

Q: How long is your commute?

About 6–8 kilometers. I've never measured it.

Q: Any thoughts on the difference between summer and winter cycling?

One thing I've noticed about winter cycling is that drivers are less aggressive. They drive slower, they're dealing with the same difficult conditions that you are — they're really the least of your worries!

Q: What does it take for you to trade your U-lock for a metro ticket?

A flat tire! My entire bike is so filthy and the work is so unpleasant in the cold — I'll happily pay someone $25 to change my tire in the winter.

Q: What is the best part of commuting by bicycle?

Hmmm. I really love the sensuality of it — the feeling of the wind, the feeling of flying along without really having to work for it. I also love not having to think! I don't worry about parking — I just get on my bike and the next thing I know I've arrived.

Q: The worst part?

The worst part? Hmmm. I can't think of anything! [After much prompting:] I have seen some really hostile exchanges between drivers — people coming right up to someone's window and yelling at them. Those are unforgettable and make me uncomfortable.

Q: If you could put one cycling-related law into effect -- what would it be? Why?

I would like to see easier access to bicycles. Something like the free services that have been put in place in other cities. I would also like to see more protection for bikes with respect to bike theft. Theft in the downtown area seems really high.

Q: Piece of bike gear you can't live without?

Those little lights from MEC! You recommended that I try one back at the Redpath Museum Christmas party, and I ended up receiving one as a gift from every member of my family! So now I've got plenty. That's okay, they're great!

Q: Favourite route on the island of Montreal?

I really like… [Ingrid has a lot of favourites! We agreed to feature one of the more surprising routes available to Montrealers — a dedicated trail that takes you right into Ottawa!]

You can take the commuter train to the Vaudreuil station, putting your bikes in the front car of the train. From there, you ride 15km to town of Rigaud and meet up with the Prescott-Russell trail 500m from the town info centre. The trail is a converted railway and passes through mostly agricultural land. We saw tons of butterflies and frogs — that sort of thing. We left in the morning, rode about 98 kilometers, and rolled in to Ottawa at 10 pm. A very pleasant route.

http://www.canadatrails.ca/tct/on/prescott.html http://www.prescott-russell.on.ca/sentier-trail/frames_en.html

Q: Any advice for bushy-tailed students new to cycling in the city?

Yes, I do have some advice for bushy-tailed students — I was once one myself! I started out very cautiously, trying to stick to the sidewalk and to quiet side streets. I think I was taught to be shy about being on the roads on a bicycle. Now I know that we need to take our place on the roads! You are a driver operating a vehicle, and you have as much a right to the road as any other driver. My advice is don't be afraid, take your place, and be proud!

Posted at 11:03PM on Apr 24, 2008

Technique: Don't let your bike eat your pants

As long as you're riding a bike with no chain guard, you'll need to be watching out for getting your pants/skirt/shoelaces/ankle hair caught in your chain. Here are some quick solutions to this perpetual problem:

1. Roll up your pant leg. You can do just one (dorky but you can own it) or both. For a trimmer look and better chain-avoidance you can make a pleat in the leg before you start rolling. You'll see the pants-tightly-rolled-up-to-mid-calf look on a lot of messengers and faux-messengers. This works well, but is time-intensive if you're just gonna unroll again when you get where you're going.

2. Use some kinda gadget. MEC sells cheap reflective velcro leg wraps. Techno-dorky, and annoying because they add to the commuting paraphernalia you must wrangle. The visibility boost is real as long as you wash them if they become completely caked in filth.

3. Tuck your pant leg into your sock. This is both immensely dorky and my favourite method. Unless you're wearing long pants and sandals (why?), you'll nearly always have a sock handy when you need one. The tuck is fast (again, pleat for maximum effect), and you can get rid of it without bending over by just tugging your pants out of the sock. If you want to salvage some semblance of dignity, tuck both legs and then pull the fabric of your pants down over the top of the sock so that you can rock it like Tintin. Sweet! [It has been noted that guys' socks tend to be longer than gals' socks. Your mileage may vary]

Posted at 06:52PM on Apr 24, 2008

McGill Rides: Liz!

Q: How are you connected with McGill University?

I'm a U3 Environment student.

Q: How long have you been commuting by bicycle?

I got my bike at the beginning of 2nd year, so more or less since then. (I guess I started biking to school in grade 2 or 3, but that doesn't really count!)

Q: Do you cycle all year round?

Yeah! Winter biking's like a living video game. The conditions are always different and you never know what to expect.

Q: How long is your commute?

10-20 minutes, depending on the lights and the snow.

Q: What does it take for you to trade your U-lock for a metro ticket or a steering wheel?

Bad luck and bad timing...then I'll just walk. (Or skip class to fix my bike!)

Q: What is the best part of commuting by bicycle?

Realizing that everything is just a bike ride away. It's a great way to get to know the city. Also, I really enjoy taking in the patterns on the way to and from school—watching things along the route change over time and seeing how they stay the same (like knowing whether I'll catch that light 4 blocks away if I can make it through the next one).

Q: The worst part?

Not being seen by cars and buses! It's really frustrating when people don't pay attention when they're turning or opening their car doors. Also, the salt truck, and those thick chunks of snow on the pavement that send you into an unexpected moguls run.

Q: If you could put one cycling-related law into effect, what would it be? Why?

Improved driver training for taxi cabs.

Q: Piece of bike gear you can't live without?

I never leave home without my fanny-pack-of-bike-stuff. (Pump, patch kit, oil, small wrench, multi-tool...) It lives in the bottom of my backpack and always seems to come in handy.... A few months ago I got hit on the Maisonneuve bike path, but had everything I needed to fix up my bike and ride home.

Q: Favourite route on the island of Montreal?

Anything downhill! St. Urbain from Duluth is a sweet hill without a lot of lights to worry about, and it's even got the bike path.

Q: Any advice for fellow students new to cycling in the city?

Always wear a helmet, use a white light in front and a red one in the back (never the other way around—it's really confusing!) and be smart about which rules you break. It's really important to take riding seriously so that the cars will take you—and other cyclists—seriously too.

Posted at 10:01AM on Apr 18, 2008

New blog category: McGill Rides

One of the things I love about Montréal is the wild diversity of folks on bikes. From carbon fiber and spandex to 20-year-old cruisers and trés chic, there is a casual two-wheeled egalitarianism that I treasure. Young kids, hipsters, working stiffs, retirees (love those on-board radios), bottle collectors. Everyone getting their roll on.

McGill itself is like a charming mini-Montréal in this respect. The bike riding population may be skewed towards 20-somethings, but there is still ample variety. In this "McGill Rides" category I will be introducing a fellow commuter on a roughly-weekly basis. I'll also have them answer a few questions and show off their steeds. Let's start knocking on doors (well, actually I lurked by bike racks) and see who we can meet!

Posted at 03:17AM on Apr 15, 2008

Bikes in a box?

There is some buzz around campus about the possibility of coming up with more secure bike parking options at McGill. Together with a trend towards leaving more bike parking accessible during the winter it seems as though the administration is starting to envision McGill as a distinctly bike-friendly destination. Nothin' wrong with that!

One proposal making the rounds is to install secure bike lockers (check out an example here). These would allow you to put your entire bike and associated paraphernalia under lock and key, presumably for a reasonable fee. I think this idea could work, but I forsee one major pitfall: I won't use these lockers if there is a good chance that they'll all be full when I show up with my bike. Even passing by whatever corner of campus they'd be installed in on my way to my regular lockup would be a pain if the odds were against me. How would McGill successfully match supply and demand? I imagine by either installing a ton of lockers, charging hefty fees, or perhaps by having the lockers available through a subscription service. Given that the first option isn't especially likely, these lockers will probably end up out of reach of your average commuting Jane and Joe. Perhaps this is the best we can hope for.

There are likely several successful models that have been implemented at other universities that we could emulate — and perhaps I've overlooked something in my casual analysis above. Opinions are being actively sought on this issue, so make sure your voice gets heard! Write something intelligible to taooftraffic@mcgilldaily.com and I'd be happy to showcase your perspective.

Posted at 07:38PM on Apr 09, 2008

A seven-pound bicycle?

It boggles the mind.

James over at [Bicycle Design] has a blog entry on the world's first [7-pound road bicycle]. Check it out if you dare. Racing types and amateur 'weight weenies' have been shaving grams off their rides for decades, replacing solid-but-heavy steel with aluminum, titanium, and exotic carbon composites. These replacements don't come cheap. This guy's custom wheels would run you fifteen thousand dollars. But let's get back to the seven-pound part of this story.

Most bikes on the road are well above twenty pounds. A twenty-pound bike is a light city bike. If you own a 'cruiser' style bike you probably push around thirty pounds or more. Bikes, at least the ones we see in the city, just don't weigh anything near seven pounds.

What does weigh seven pounds? I've provided some photos for reference. This is Cream Puff, a seven-pound calico cat with a loving new owner:

This is a nine-pound newborn baby. Mine, actually. (He weighs more now):

Try to picture flying up Saint-Laurent on either of these creatures. Now imagine hefting one onto your shoulder as you head up some stairs. See? Boggles the mind.

Posted at 10:45PM on Mar 28, 2008

Dirty Talk: Forensic Flatology (part two)

Last week, I warned you against simply changing your inner tube if you get a flat tire. Today, we're going to run down the list of different kinds of flats, their causes, and what to do to prevent them from recurring.

The outer puncture flat

The most common reason for flat tires on a well-maintained bike. Slivers of glass, thorns, staples, and all manner of pointy crap can do you in without much trouble. This sort of flat will usually deflate fairly slowly. Giveaway: a single, irregular hole on the outer surface of your inner tube. What you must do: run your fingers lightly around inside your tire (once you've got it off of your wheel) looking for something sharp imbedded in the rubber. I know this sounds like a really bad idea, but it's necessary and as long as you're not rubbing your tire as if you expected a genie to appear you won't draw blood when you find the interloper. To narrow the search area you can hold your tube up alongside your wheel and match the location of your puncture to the tire. Fail to do this and that staple (or whatever it was) will very happily cut up your tube every time it happens to be against the ground when you hit a bump. Note that big puddles of car window glass aren't a threat — broken beer bottles definitely are.

The inner puncture flat

A common source of mystery flats. These are caused by something sharp on your rim (the metal hoop part of your wheel) such as a shard of metal from the bike shop or (more typically) a spoke that is too long. Giveaway: a single hole on the inside surface of your inner tube. What you must do: Carefully inspect the bed of your rim where the inner tube lies for sharp bits and protruding spokes. Install a tire liner if you don't already have one. Duct tape will work in a pinch. If the problem is a too-long spoke, you can either file that sucker down or replace it with a shorter one. This may be a job for the bike shop if you're not up for tackling spokes just yet.

The pinch flat

More common on bikes with skinny tires than bikes with big fatties, a pinch flat occurs when your wheel hits something (usually a curb or a pothole) with enough force to crush the rubber in your innertube between your tire and your rim. Hit with enough force and you may permanently dent your rim at the same time — bonus! Giveaway: two regular holes, rim's-width apart on the inner surface of your inner tube. What you must do: If you love your skinny tires (as I do), make sure they're pumped up to around 100 to 110 psi. This usually requires topping them up with a good bicycle pump (not a gas station hose – those don't go higher than 90 psi) once or twice a week, depending on the weather and the quality of your innertubes. If you end up with this kind of flat on your mountain bike — either your tires were nearly flat to start with or you really need to soften up on those curbs!

The inflation flat

Nearly always a result of improperly installing an innertube. Giveaway: a tear in the innertube, with the flat coming during inflation of the tire or shortly thereafter. What you must do: Make sure that no innertube is squeezing out from under your tire as you're pumping it up! Proper tube-changing techique will usually prevent this (we'll cover that in a later post).

The valve-stem flat

More common with Presta valve tubes (the long, skinny ones) than Schraeder valve tubes (the ones that look like car tire valves), this one is a heart breaker. You're almost done inflating a new tube, or you're quickly pumping up a tire before heading off, and then pssssssst, you're back to square one. The juncture of the valve stem with the main body of your innertube is delicate — getting too rough with the stem can cause an impossible-to-patch rupture. A small rip here can also be the cause of a tire that seems to deflate itself slowly over several days. Giveaway: a linear rip around the base of the valve stem. What you must do: Be gentle with your innertubes! Having to re-change a tire because you were moving too fast is humbling (good) and a waste of rubber (bad).

That does it for our tour of flat tires, and this introduction to forensic flatology. If you're thinking that all of this mucking about with tires is a little beyond what you're comfortable with, don't despair! We'll cover how to actually change a tire — and when to turn your wheel over to a mechanic instead — another time.

Posted at 12:30AM on Mar 28, 2008

Dirty Talk

If you don't already appreciate the joys of spending hours fiddling with bikes caked in lovingly-accumulated Montreal road filth, it's time for us have a little sit-down.

While most of us will never acquire the mechanical acumen necessary to strip a car, or even a motorcycle, down to its respective bits and then get it back on the road again, the humble bicycle is likely within your reach. We're talking about two wheels, a doohickey to make 'em turn, and a doohickey to make them stop — you can DO this. Along the way, you'll gain a healthy working relationship with wrenches, grease, and colorful curses in a language of your choice. You'll also feel your chest swelling with pride as you raise your grimy hand to your brow and search the horizon for your next destination, your resurrected steel steed clenched between your thighs and your entire balcony covered in rust, tools, and the heady scent of fresh accomplishment.

If I lost you there, don't worry. This kind of thing isn't for everyone — but you won't know for sure until you try!

P.S. About those hands. I like to keep a bunch of these in my backpack -- because you never know when you'll need to help someone get their chain back on...

Posted at 09:30PM on Mar 20, 2008

Forensic flatology part one

One sure way to end up deeply frustrated with your bike is to run into a series of flat tires. If you're like me, you're usually going somewhere when you get a flat — which means that all of a sudden you're late, pissed off, and perhaps stuck locking up your bike and walking to the nearest metro station. Ten out of ten cyclists agree: flat tires are a pain in the ass. I'm not going to talk here about how to change your flat, or how to successfully patch a tube or what tools you should carry with you so that you can rescue yourself from just about any flat-related situation. Those are topics for another post. Today, I want to take you on a quick tour of the fascinating world of forensic flatology.

One of the most masochistic things you can do as a cyclist is simply change your innertube after you've had a flat tire. Unless you figure out why you got that flat, you risk getting another one – sometimes within half a block of the first. Sparing an extra two minutes after a flat to diagnose its source will save you much pain and delay in the longterm. Trust me on this — as a bike messenger I'd sometimes rack up as many as eight flats per week. How to diagnose a flat? First, you need to find the leak. It's easy to find a big rip in your tube, and very hard to find a tiny pinprick. Inflating the tube and then holding it up to your lips as you rotate it past your face is a good technique, as is throwing your tube in a sink or bathtub (if one happens to be handy) and looking for bubbles. This can be the toughest part of the operation. Stick with it! Give up now and all you'll have for your trouble is that dank rubber smell up your nose. Once you've found it, identifying your problem will be a snap provided you're familiar with the bestiary of flats — the subject of tomorrow's post. Impatient for the full story? Sheldon Brown, preeminent and dearly-missed internet bike guru, has a great article on flats here:

www.sheldonbrown.com/flats.html

Posted at 11:39PM on Mar 18, 2008

(Stupid) bike messenger tricks: EZ-clairvoyance

One of the handiest things I learned during my stint as a bike messenger was that you can often do a pretty good job of estimating the location of an unknown address by memorizing the street numbers of some main Montreal arteries and the rules of the street numbering system. I've lost my edge now, but at the time you could toss out something like "1603 St-Denis" and I'd be able to say "Oh, that's between Ontario and De Maisonneuve on the east side of the street." Some messengers are scary-good at this— it's a key skill when your job is largely one long orienteering session. Here's how it works:

Addresses on the north sides of east-west streets are always odd, as are addresses on the east sides of north-south streets. Still with me? I remembered this as "North is naughty, east is eerie." Next, remember that the addresses for east-west streets count from St-Laurent. So 400 Rachel E. is four blocks east of St-Laurent, and 4817 Sherbrooke W. is way the heck out in Westmount. The north-south streets count from the Lachine Canal*. So far so good? Now throw in some major 'landmark' streets and you're good to go. Here's a short list of the ones I still remember:

North-South Streets

Notre-Dame: 500
Rene-Levesque: 1200
Sainte-Catherine: 1400
Sherbrooke: 3400
Mont-Royal: 4500
Saint-Joseph: 5000

East-West Streets

Atwater: 2400 W.
Peel: 1100 W.
Saint-Laurent: 0 (!)
Berri: 500 E.
Papineau 1700 E.

Add in some streets relevant to your life and you're ready to win friends and influence people, or at least render exceptionally good service to lost tourists. Or you can forget the whole 'major streets' business and just remember the "North is naughty" bit. It'll save you at least a few minutes per year.

*This system has its weird exceptions. Plenty of them, in fact. For example, streets south of the Lachine canal count up from the Saint Lawrence river, and there's a giant jump in street numbers after Atwater (2400 W) in the west. Greene, just three blocks further along, is at 4200 W. Want to know all the sordid details? Get started here.

Posted at 09:52PM on Mar 10, 2008

New blog category: (Stupid) bike messenger tricks

Riding a bike in traffic for money has its upsides. For example, you've got a lot time to polish up workaday techniques like locking up your bike, squeezing into elevators, and not kicking kids in the head while mounting your bike. Practice makes perfect! Spending so much time on the roads of one city also gives you a unique perspective on route-finding and efficient navigation. But do you really need to risk your neck earning minimum wage on the grey-market to find wisdom? Heck no — just keep tabs on this blog. Your parents will be appreciate it.

Jay Ploss

Posted at 09:48PM on Mar 10, 2008

Welcome to the Tao of Traffic

Hi, I'm Jay. I'm here to talk bikes. Specifically, I'm here to talk about riding a bike as your primary means of transportation in an urban environment. Why? Well, riding a bike in Montreal is simply where it's at. For about the price of an organic chemistry textbook, you can pick up a decent bike and get a ticket to a first-class urban education thrown into the bargain.

Hop on your bike to hang out with a friend, get your groceries, commute to work, discover a new neighbourhood, get into trouble, get away from it all, mix things up, push your pulse, make it home from a party, and then make it your 8:30 class the next morning. In short, get on your bike to live. Cycling in the city is an elegant solution that handily beats driving and public transportation – provided you don't commute from Dorval. But urban cycling has a dark side as well. Bikes break down and rust up solid. Riding the streets can net you the infamous "door prize" if someone happens to throw their door open as you pedal by. And, you may occasionally find yourself stranded in the middle of nowhere in the pouring rain with a skinned knee and a flat tire.

Hopefully, before any of these things happen to you, you'll have read up on some of my blog posts. I'll be covering topics like getting a bike in Montreal, dressing for winter cycling, maintaining your bike, common bike repairs, setting up a simple home workshop on the cheap, customizing your ride, where to shop for bikes and parts, essential urban cycling techniques, (stupid) bike messenger tricks, cycling philosophy, local and global cycling-related news, and... I think you get the idea.

Who am I to claim authority on such fascinating topics? Well, I'm not the most experienced rider on the streets, or the fastest or the coolest. But I do have nearly a decade of urban cycling on my resumé, including five Montréal winters and a brief stint as a bike messenger. More importantly, I'm passionate about cycling and bikes and I want to share what I've learned over the years with you.

Ready? Let's hit the road!

Posted at 08:15PM on Mar 06, 2008